Saucon Valley union urges state to throw out complaint

The Saucon Valley Education Association is asking the state to throw out the school board's complaint that the union is practicing unfair bargaining tactics.

Union attorney Andrew Muir said in a news release that the union is asking the state to cancel a scheduled November hearing. In June, the board filed a labor complaint after the union presented a contract proposal that the district said was the most costly since negotiations first started nearly three years ago.

If the hearing is not canceled, Muir said the union will subpoena the school board, its solicitor Jeff Sultanik and former Superintendent Sandra Fellin to "answer questions about their activities and knowledge of the events that took place behind the scenes in fact finding and their conduct in negotiations."

Last fall, the two sides agreed to a third-party, fact-finder's report that recommended a salary freeze the first year, and then raises mostly through stipends. The board accepted the report, but the union rejected it twice.

The union then reassembled its negotiations team and hired Muir. Since then, the union has given the board three contract proposals. When filing the unfair labor complaint, the board alleged the union is trying to erase the previous contract negotiations.

The union's latest deal was a three-year deal with more than 2 percent raises each year for the union's 180 teachers, plus increases for longevity and continuing education.

The district said it was too costly. A bargaining session is scheduled for Oct. 8, where the board will present a six-year deal that is largely based on the fact-finder's report, but also focuses on increasing younger teachers' pay.

The union has argued that younger teachers are not paid as well as other Lehigh Valley educators. In 2012, the last year of the current expired contract, the starting salary was $44,232 and the top salary was $93,072.

Under the latest union proposal including the more than 2 percent raises, the starting salary would jump to $48,467 beginning in the 2015-16 school year.

The district's new six-year proposal will also ask teachers to contribute more for health care benefits. In the union's contract proposals, teachers' health care contributions would remain the same.

Contract negotiations have turned contentious, with Muir previously threatening a four- to six-week strike. There are no current plans to vote on striking.